Because It's You
by winterinmyveins
Summary: Souji has always been curious about Yosuke's headphones and what they could possibly meant to the other. Obligatory headphones-centric piece. Cute and dumb aibous being cute and dumb. Confessions are made. Fluff is had.(edit: in regards to an anon review, any likeness to pre-existing work is purely coincidental. please pm me if you have think i have copied someone else. thank you)


When he'd first come to Inaba and met Yosuke, one of his immediate thoughts was: "What's with the headphones?". It was more than likely something a lot of people wondered about. After all, the brunet was never seen without them. Once the investigation began and they started spending copious amounts of time together, he found himself gaining more and more questions about his Partner and those sleek headphones. But he never asked about it. For some reason, it felt like he'd be encroaching on something very personal so he kept his curiosity to himself.

So in mid-September, during one of their frequent sleepovers, when Yosuke removed the treasured headphones from their place over his ears and carefully situated them over Souji's, his stormy orbs - which had been focused on folding envelopes - widened and his head snapped up to stare at his best friend.

A hesitant hand reached up to trace the outline of an earpiece. Thye were as smooth as he'd imagined. And incredibly comfortable, keeping his ears rather warm. A small smile played on his lips as he listened intently to the melody resounding in his head. It was soft and slow, not at all like what he thought the other would be into. The words were also a surprise. They were sweet - sappy, even. His eyes slid closed as he focused, fingers still tracing alone the surface of the red metal, feeling as though he were somewhere else entirely.

And then there was a warmth in his unoccupied hand, calloused skin worming its way to unfurl his fingers and slip between them. It took him a moment to realise it was Yosuke's fingers threading through his own. A light pink soon dusted his cheeks at this development and he squeezed that hand lightly, thumb caressing the back gently. If the brunet had initiated the contact, that meant he could indulge in it just a bit, right? He didn't have to feel guilt for wanting it. For having wanted nothing more than to feel those nimble fingers interlock with his own; just to be able to touch the other and know he wouldn't be rejected.

The song ended after a few minutes and his eyes opened, blinking a few times to reorient himself. The gaze that met his had his heart stuttering. There was such affection present in those amber hues, as well as things that he didn't know if he wanted to hope were there. Souji found it increasingly hard to breathe. He opened his mouth to speak; to ask about the song and the headphones and why he'd let him wear them and what all of this meant. But before he could manage to find his voice, Yosuke was leaning in, his lips pressing lightly to the Fool's.

If he wasn't in shock before, he was not. This was Yosuke, for crying out loud. The same Yosuke who had given Kanji shit for possibly liking men. The same Yosuke who avoided the topic of homosexuality like the plague. Thinking about it more, though, Souji guessed the other hadn't done anything like that for a while, but it doesn't just go away, right? But as he applied pressure in return, moving his hand from the headphones to cup the back of the Magician's neck, fingers curling around unruly strands of auburn, he found it hard to keep questioning anything. Or to care at all. He was kissing Yosuke. Something he'd only dared to think about in the safety of his own mind, without letting on to his desires. He wasn't about to let this chance slip away.

Their mouths moved together in shy, slow kisses, his fingers toying with the ends of the smaller's hair as Yosuke balled a wad of Souji's shirt in his free hand. When the brunet pulled back and reached up to take his headphones back and let them hang around his neck like usual, all he wanted was to go right back to kissing the boy he'd been falling for for months now.

"So, Partner ... What's your answer?"

Grey brows furrowed at the question. What? Answer? Shouldn't he be the one asking for answers? Yosuke had been unknowingly causing numerous questions to build up in the leader's mind ever since they met and now he wanted an answer? His head was too full for this.

"My answer?"

"Yeah. Didn't you listen to the song?"

Blinking, Souji took a deep breath to steady himself and searched for the lyrics he could recall. Something about not knowing what to do. About being in love with your best fr- Oh. _Oh._

This time, when he met those eyes, there was hope and fear and ... love. Yes, that's definitely what he thought it was. And suddenly, everything began clicking together. The way Yosuke'd been staring when he thought Souji wasn't paying attention. The way that, for the past few months, he'd make sure to stick as close to him as possible; arms, fingers, shoulders, thighs all brushing together briefly and then pointedly not looking Souji in the eye.

And yeah. Yeah, he'd been pretty sure he was in love with Yosuke for a long time now. Only repressing it because of previous indications of said brunet's distaste towards the subject matter. The grin that spread across the other's face as Souji reached back up to trace his fingers along a defined jawline made any other doubts he'd had fade away.

"Say, Yosuke ... Would you like to go out with me?"

His own lips twitched into a smile as he watched the release of whatever breath Yosuke must have been holding and that smile that brightened any room taking place over the nervous expression.

"Yeah. That'd be cool. If you're really okay with being with someone like me. I mean ... I'm still not completely comfortable with being this way, y'know? And my parents ... I don't even want to think of what they'd do. You'll probably get really frustrated with me, and you might get tired of me really fast, but I want to be with you. I wanna be Partner Partners."

The term had both teens' complexions darkening, and a chuckle leaving Souji's lips.

"You already frustrate me a lot, idiot. But I would never get tired of you. I'll help you through anything, you know that. We're equals, remember? I'm sure this will be nothing I can't handle. I want to be with you, either way. It's never been anyone else for me but you."

That admission seemed to surprise the smaller because his eyes widened and he covered his face with his hands.

"Aw, man. Do you have to say things like that with a straight face?"

"Of course. Or I wouldn't get such cute reactions out of you."

That earned him a groan and a punch to the shoulder, causing another bought of laughter from Souji.

"Dude, stop that. I'm not a girl, you know."

"Oh, I'm well aware."

The change in tone had Yosuke gawking at the other, which Souji took as an opportunity to capture his newly acquired boyfriend's mouth in another kiss, successfully shutting him up. Well, that would come in handy.

Still, something was bothering him, and he pulled back just far enough to rest his forehead against his Partner's.

"Yosuke, can I ask you something?"

" 'course."

"Your headphones. I've always wondered about them. Why you're never without them. What they mean to you. What kind of music you listen to. If they're like a safety blanket or something. But I've never asked because that seems quite rude, and the matter seems personal, but ... You let me wear them just now, and that seems like a rather big deal. So I suppose I just want to know why."

Yosuke was silent as he seemed to mull it over.

"I guess ... Because it's you. I wouldn't let anyone else lay a finger on these, so you should feel special. They're my pride and joy, y'know? Got them with the money I'd saved up my first year working at Junes a few years back. A safety blanket ... Yeah, guess that sounds about right. Music's like an escape for me. Puts me in a place where no one and nothing can really get to me. Like when I'm stuck at work or get into it with my folks, all I gotta do is put my headphones on, and bam. It sounds really lame saying it out loud, but since it's you, I guess it's fine. If you wanted to know, though, you could've just asked, man. I'd tell you anything, you know."

Happy to know more about Yosuke, the grey-haired teen smiled and nodded, tugging his boyfriend until he rested between his legs, arms wrapping around a slim waist. He nosed at the brunet's throat, sighing contently as he felt arms looping around his neck in turn.

"Thank you. I'm honoured that you would share something so important to you with me."

"Idiot. Didn't I say to stop saying that embarrassing crap?"

"Oh, you were being serious?"

He could practically feel the rolling of Yosuke's eyes at that and his smile widened, feeling a soft pair of lips kiss his temple. Yeah, he could definitely get used to this.


End file.
